Triora
Encyclopedia
Triora is an elite member of I Borghi Piú Belli d'Italia, a list of the top 100 most beautiful medieval citadels in Italy. It is also a member of Touring Club Italia Bandiere Arancioni, a similarly prestigious club which lists the best places for tourists to enjoy. It is a comune
(municipality) in the province of Imperia
in the Italian
region Liguria
, located about 100 km southwest of Genoa
and about 25 km northwest of Imperia, on the border with France
. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 416 and an area of 68.0 km².
The municipality of Triora contains the frazioni
(subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Bregalla, Cetta, Creppo, Goina, Loreto, Monesi, Realdo, Verdeggia, and Saccarello.
Triora's 21st century beauty shadows a gruesome Middle Ages renown, for Triora was the site of the last witch trials
held in Italy, during the Renaissance. As such it has been selected as the location of a series of folklore- and horror-themed events and festivals in the last years. It has three annual festivals: a summer witchcraft festival, in August; and two autumn celebrations: the mushroom festival in September; and Halloween, at the end of October. Then there are the many smaller fairs of the year, including the Christmas bonfire on 24 December; St. John of the Meadows, the local patron saint's day, on 23 June; a chestnut fair in October; an All Souls Day fair, at the start of November; and a series of Easter parades, before, during and after Holy Week, each Spring.
Triora borders the following municipalities: Briga Alta
, Castelvittorio
, La Brigue
(France), Mendatica
, Molini di Triora
, Montegrosso Pian Latte
, Pigna and Saorge
(France).
, in the village of Creppo Francesco Moraldo (Creppo 30/12/1906 - 28/4/2001) hid in his house and protected from deportation two German Jewish orphans nine and eleven years old.
Moraldo had been a butler in France
of the Italian banker Angelo Donati
who had taken the children under his protection in July 1942 when their parents had been deported from Nice
to Auschwitz.
When Donati had to take refuge in Switzerland
after the Armistice of September 8, 1943, Moraldo took the children with him to his home village. The whole population of the village, informed of the situation, helped actively with their saving, despite the danger due to fights and frequent Germans roundups in the area.
For this commitment to solidarity February 11, 1999, the Yad Vashem
Institute of Jerusalem has awarded Francesco Moraldo with the title of Righteous Among the Nations
.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality) in the province of Imperia
Province of Imperia
The Province of Imperia is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between the Maritime Alps to the north and the Ligurian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea to the south...
in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
region Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, located about 100 km southwest of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and about 25 km northwest of Imperia, on the border with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 416 and an area of 68.0 km².
The municipality of Triora contains the frazioni
Frazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
(subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Bregalla, Cetta, Creppo, Goina, Loreto, Monesi, Realdo, Verdeggia, and Saccarello.
Triora's 21st century beauty shadows a gruesome Middle Ages renown, for Triora was the site of the last witch trials
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
held in Italy, during the Renaissance. As such it has been selected as the location of a series of folklore- and horror-themed events and festivals in the last years. It has three annual festivals: a summer witchcraft festival, in August; and two autumn celebrations: the mushroom festival in September; and Halloween, at the end of October. Then there are the many smaller fairs of the year, including the Christmas bonfire on 24 December; St. John of the Meadows, the local patron saint's day, on 23 June; a chestnut fair in October; an All Souls Day fair, at the start of November; and a series of Easter parades, before, during and after Holy Week, each Spring.
Triora borders the following municipalities: Briga Alta
Briga Alta
Briga Alta is a comune in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 km south of Turin and about 13 km southeast of Cuneo, on the border with France...
, Castelvittorio
Castelvittorio
Castelvittorio is a comune in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about 120 km southwest of Genoa and about 30 km west of Imperia....
, La Brigue
La Brigue
La Brigue is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.Brigue became part of France after the World War II, when Italy was forced to hand it over in September 1947 under the terms of the 1947 Peace of Paris. Before the hand over, it was part of Province of Cuneo...
(France), Mendatica
Mendatica
Mendatica is a comune in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about 100 km southwest of Genoa and about 30 km northwest of Imperia...
, Molini di Triora
Molini di Triora
Molini di Triora is a comune in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about 100 km southwest of Genoa and about 25 km northwest of Imperia...
, Montegrosso Pian Latte
Montegrosso Pian Latte
Montegrosso Pian Latte is a comune in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about 100 km southwest of Genoa and about 25 km northwest of Imperia...
, Pigna and Saorge
Saorge
Saorge is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Highway E74 which runs north from Menton, passes through Saorge on its way to the Col de Tende where it crosses into Italy....
(France).
Francesco Moraldo from Creppo
During all the period of the German occupation and of the Italian Social RepublicItalian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
, in the village of Creppo Francesco Moraldo (Creppo 30/12/1906 - 28/4/2001) hid in his house and protected from deportation two German Jewish orphans nine and eleven years old.
Moraldo had been a butler in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
of the Italian banker Angelo Donati
Angelo Donati
Angelo Donati was a Jewish Italian banker and philanthropist, and a diplomat of San Marino Republic in Paris.- Biography :Donati was born in Modena...
who had taken the children under his protection in July 1942 when their parents had been deported from Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
to Auschwitz.
When Donati had to take refuge in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
after the Armistice of September 8, 1943, Moraldo took the children with him to his home village. The whole population of the village, informed of the situation, helped actively with their saving, despite the danger due to fights and frequent Germans roundups in the area.
For this commitment to solidarity February 11, 1999, the Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
Institute of Jerusalem has awarded Francesco Moraldo with the title of Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
.